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Blue Jays’ Travis Shaw on not being able to hit during isolation

Blue Jays first baseman hopeful Travis Shaw discusses feeling re-energized for his chance at a fresh start after a tough season in Milwaukee, says he’s looking forward to being part of this team, that has a chance to be very exciting.

Travis Shaw, like many people in these days of isolation, is a little bored and says it “feels weird to kinda be doing nothing this time of year.”

The Toronto Blue Jays infielder is staying in Florida for the time being and when he’s not re-watching old golf tournaments, he’s trying to stay in shape by doing home workouts and going on runs. However, working on his swing is a different issue.

“Honestly, I’ve only hit a couple times over the last couple weeks,” Shaw said Tuesday during an appearance on Good Show. “Every place is shut down right now and there’s just nowhere to hit. All the high schools have closed their facilities, you can’t use the cages, even outdoor facilities they’ll lock the cages. There’s a couple other guys that play in the big leagues down here and they’re in the same boat, too. We’re just kinda stuck. There’s like not really anything to do right now.”

Not an ideal situation for a player looking to bounce back from his worst season as a pro.

Shaw was coming off back-to-back 30-home-run seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers before struggling in 2019. He slashed .157/.281/.270 in 86 games, a huge step down from the .241/.345/.480 slashline he posted in 2018. He also spent time in triple-A.

The soon-to-be 30-year-old was looking forward to a fresh start on a new team after signing a one-year deal with the Blue Jays in December.

“Spring started off a little bit slow this year but the last couple weeks, down the stretch, it was starting to feel good,” Shaw said. “Felt pretty normal and I was actually hitting the ball really hard, getting some hits and the results were starting to come too, so I was in a really good spot baseball-wise and physically with about a week left in spring training when this all happened. It’s kind of a letdown. I was really excited to get up to Canada.”

With so much uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s unclear exactly when the MLB season might be able to start back up. But when it does, Shaw is looking forward to putting last year behind him.

“The problems that arose last year were not an issue this spring training,” Shaw added.

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